Igniting the Spark
by B.R. Russell
Summary: As Finnick starts the 75th annual Hunger Games he has two things in mind, get Katniss and himself out alive. In order to do this he must fight with careers as well as anything the Gamemakers throw his way. The story of Catching Fire told in the view of Finnick Odair.


**A/N:**

**I have always wondered what goes through other characters head through out The Hunger Games series. This is my take of Catching Fire through the eyes of Finnick. Please keep in mind that this won't follow the exact plot of Catching Fire, in fact, some spots are going to be completely different. I'll try to update as often as I can but keep in mind writing takes some time. I posted this a while ago but I never actually kept up with it, so I'm redoing it while keeping the same idea. Thanks!**

"Ladies and gentleman let the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games begin!" The voice of Claudius Templesmith booms throughout the arena. I have sixty seconds to assess my surrounding. My eyes scan the arena and I see that it looks like a wheel with twelve spokes coming out from the center. My eyes then wander to the cornucopia on the shore; it looks as though it's standing twenty feet tall, the opposite from what it was last year. I finally look to my fellow tributes and notice how each one is surrounded by water. I question why the Gamermakers would do this; they must know that two thirds of the tributes cannot swim. I know there must me something I don't know. There has to be a reason why they would do this. They wouldn't want all of the tributes to die drowning. There is no fun for them in that. I start to scour the podiums we stand on in search of Katniss. My only goals in these games are to protect her and myself out of these games. I finally find her six to the right of me. She looks as though she is about to break down. I have to get to her as soon as possible.

"BANG!" I dive into the water as soon as I hear the noise. I slice through the waves with ease and pick up as much speed as I can. When I reach land, the rest of the tributes are still on the platform except for a select few still swimming towards the beach area. I sprint outwards towards the Cornucopia. It is even bigger than I originally thought. I examine it and look for a few items that could be of use for the games. I see a bow and arrow, obviously meant for Katniss, throwing knifes, a net, and a trident. Knowing that I do not have very much time before more people come, I grab the trident. I look around quickly to see if I need to ward of any attackers. No one that could pose a serious threat is coming near me. I then see Katniss arising from the water. She makes her way to the Cornucopia and pick up the bow and arrow. I make my way up behind her and show my prize-winning smile. She turns around, bow in hand, ready to kill.

"You can swim?" I say remain cool and calm not wanting to aggravate her.

"My family has a big bathtub," she says her body tense.

"It must be huge. How do you like this arena?" I say sweeping my hand to the left.

"It is alright, I'm indifferent toward it. You should love it though, the Gamemakers must _want_ you to win," Katniss sneers. I see her pulling back the string to her bow. I look at her and she looks like she is a wild animal hunting her prey. She is about to shoot when she spots something on my wrist. She lowers her bow, but still stays alert.

"Where did you get that?" she snaps nodding to my wrist. I look down and remember the bracelet with fire around it that Haymitch gave me. He said this would signal to her that it would be safe to be ally with me.

"Who did you get that from?" she says in a stronger more stern tone.

"Haymitch," I reply. I watch her study me with intense eyes. She holds her bow back up.

"Why should I believe you?" she asks. As if on cue, a silver parachute floats down and lands next to her. With her eyes and bow still on me, she snatches up the package. She opens the package and pulls out a loaf of fresh bread. I catch a glimpse of it and see that it is a salty piece of bread from District 4, my district. It must be a sign to ally with me. She thinks in silence for a minute.

"All right, but remember the second you try to kill me I will kill you… that applies to Peeta too," She says. She gives me a glare._ Peeta_, that gives me one more person to protect. I guess I should have already known that she would say that.

"Fine," I say. Just then, I spot the man from five sneaking up behind Katniss.

"Behind you!" I yell frantically. She spins around, just barely dodging a knife as it whips by her head. I then throw the trident through the air. It hits him square in the chest. I hear a small grunt then silence. I feel a pang of guilt; I am the first to make a kill. I try not to think to deeply about the fact.

"Is he dead?" says Katniss. I can tell it bothers here being back in these games more so than the rest of us. I try and bring our focus to surviving.

"Don't count on District one and two for allies," I say sharing the information I know. I see that she doesn't question this.

"Also, try not to run off," I say giving her a look of seriousness.

"I'll try," she says, "Why don't you check the other side of the Cornucopia for any food." I nod my head in agreement and run to the other side. I scavenge through the weapons but fail to find any that would be of use to our team.

"Find anything?" I hear Katniss call to me.

"Nope, nothing over here except for weapons," I reply.

"Same over here!"

"Grab what you want then and let's go!" I say while running back to the other side. Then I see Gloss and Enobaria reaching land. I try to escape their line of view. I meet Katniss at the middle of the Cornucopia. I see that she has grabbed a couple extra weapons. I look to my left and see Brutus flailing his body running towards us with his belt in his hand.

"Katniss, another behind you!" I say pointing to him.

She then pulls out an arrow and shoots it at his liver. Remarkably, he blocks it and it hits the center of his belt. Then purple liquid spews out from it and went all over his face. He then falls and slides back into the water.

"Let's get out of here," I say and point to the center of the arena. I start jogging, when I realize she is going in the wrong direction. She is going for Peeta.

Peeta! I should have known she would run for him.

"Wait!" I catch her just as her feet hit the water. "You don't want to overwork yourself, not with a baby on the way," She then remembers her act she is supposed to put on for Panem.

"Watch my back," I say. I then dive into the water and swim for Peeta. When I reach him, he backs to the edge of the silver platform.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," I reach out my hand.

"How do I know that?" he says, refusing to trust me.

"Because I'm allies with Katniss," I say. He is still far back on the metal plate. I then show him the fire bracelet, and that gives him some reassurance that I won't kill him.

"When I go into the water you go on my back and I'll swim you to shore," I say. I jump back into the cold and salty water. When I feel him on my back, I surge forward. About one forth through, I feel him slipping off.

"Hold on!" I yell. I then feel his grip completely loosen and feel his body slip off mine. I instantly turn around, but instead of seeing him drowning, I see him floating.

"I think our belts are floatation devices," he yells, still looking worried. He then starts to swim back to shore on his own. I go and swim over to assist him. When we get back to shore, Katniss is still on guard for any other tributes.

"The belts, they're floatation devices," Peeta states. "I see we have an ally now."

"Yes, but I'll kill him if there is any trouble." says Katniss. I then look to the Cornucopia and see that the careers are mostly on land and are getting gradually closer. I know that they aim to kill. Katniss and Peeta must have seen them too because when I turn around I see they have already started to take off. Then suddenly it hits me. _Mags_.

"We forgot Mags!" I yell just as I catch up with them. Just as we turn around, Mags comes up from the water, reaching land. The careers see me looking at her. Enobaria gives me a sly look, yells something to the others and they start running towards Mags. I take off running trying desperately to get to her before they do, weapon at hand. Just as I reach her, I see the knife sink into her back. _No._ They will pay for this. I might be able to save her if I can get her away and into the jungle, but it will but a long shot. I'll try anything. I must save Mags, my friend, my mentor. Katniss and Peeta run to assist me. They hold the careers off while I try and get a good grip on Mags. I can already see the light leaving her eyes.

"Let's go!" I scream to them. Still holding them off, we start heading toward the jungle. We run on the strips of land that lead away from the Corupopia. Just as we all reach the start of the jungle, I turn around to see if the careers are still pursuing us. I see a glint of metal, but instead of going into Mags this time, it goes into me.

**A/N: I hope that you guys enjoyed it! I am open to any comments or criticisms that anyone has! Review!**

**B.R. Russell**


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